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Keralam Launches India’s First Ecosystem Red List Assessment
Keralam launches India’s first Ecosystem Red List Assessment project to evaluate the risk of ecosystem collapse across the State. The project uses the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems framework and generates outputs such as an official risk register, an ecosystem typology atlas, and eco restoration priority maps.
Keralam’s Ecosystem Red List Assessment:
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Objectives | Provides for: transition from species-focused conservation to ecosystem strategies; scientific assessments of ecosystem collapse risk across the State; documentation of historical patterns of ecosystem loss, habitat fragmentation, and hydrological disruption; identification of threats from climatic and anthropogenic factors; establishment of a scientific baseline to inform ecosystem restoration and promote sustainable development. |
| Habitats and regions | Comprises natural habitats in mountainous, midland, and coastal regions, including additional forests, river systems, and coastal belts. |
| Key ecosystems | Comprises tropical riparian evergreen forests, Myristica swamps, Shola-grassland mosaics, and coastal mangroves. |
| Quantitative detail | Tropical riparian evergreen forests in the southern Western Ghats have experienced an estimated 83% reduction in extent over the past century. |
| Framework | Governed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) framework. |
| Assessment criteria | Evaluates ecosystems against 5 standardised criteria to assess their risk of collapse. |
| IUCN list distinction | The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems assesses the risk of ecosystem collapse, whereas the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assesses the extinction risk of species. |
| Anticipated outcomes | Provides for outputs: official risk register; ecosystem typology atlas; eco restoration priority maps; integration with State planning portals. |
| Decentralised governance linkage | Authorises delivery of actionable information to Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and local panchayats. |